Sobrr Will Make You Wish You Stayed at Home – Sober

07 Aug 2014

There are bad ideas, there is stupid personal behavior, but when you have an app that encourages a mix of both and records them, it’s a bad idea. A stupider idea is actually using that app.

Courtesy of my friend, Tonia Reis, I found out about Sobrr, which seems to me to be the grown-up version of Snapchat, but one that encourages recording um, more “adult” behavior.

Sobrr’s perspective is the following (I am quoting): “If you only had 24 hours to live your life to the fullest — with no baggage from the past and no future to worry about — what would you choose to do?” Thanks to Sobrr — a new location-based mobile app where everyone you friend and everything you post expires in 24 hours — that life-changing moment is NOW.”

Their video is below, which is the centerpiece of their web site, but their message to me is:

Use our location-based app to find other people who want to “seize the moment”

Do something that you would not normally do. Think bars, think alcohol, think opposite sex (watch the ad carefully – it pairs men and women)

And, at the invitation of Sobrr, “BE EPIC: Do the things you’ve always dreamed of doing and document it on Sobrr with updates, photos, and chat messages. Others can swipe once to cheer you on.”

Again, at the invitation of Sobrr, “MOVE ON.”

According to Sobrr, “everything you’ve shared and all the friends you’ve made automatically ‘expires’ in 24 hours.” Relationships? Gonzo. Pictures? Nuked. Chat records? In the trash can. Supposedly. But in the era of screen shots, or drunken people forgetting to use the app to shoot video and pictures, breaking established habits, what happens then if something is still recorded? Are you still EPIC? Or BUSTED?

I am not here to judge others on how they spend their free time and what that entails (I gotta admit though, that this SCREAMS one night stand in my mind), but like I said, this is the adult version of Snapchat on steroids – with adult actions and consequences. One of their suggested activities is “An epic Vegas bachelor party that you can’t quite remember — nor forget.” Right. I have done plenty of stupid things in my life, didn’t need an app to encourage me to do them, but also did not do these things in the era of social media, where everything you do can be public.

Have a look at their ad below and let me know what you think. I think rather than being EPIC tonight, I’ll stay home and be LAME.